myths, facts and solutions asylum seekers and refugees … · 2013-08-26 · myths, facts and...

MYTHS, FACTS AND SOLUTIONS

MYTH ASYLUM SEEKERS ARE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS> FACT Asylum seekers are neither illegal nor are they immigrants. Immigrants leave by choice and can return at any time. Asylum seekers are forced to leave and cannot return for fear of persecution—such as torture, imprisonment and execution.

> FACT As a signatory to the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Australia must provide protection to people fleeing persecution, regardless of whether they arrive by air or by sea.1

> FACT There is no Australian law that criminalises the act of arriving in Australia without a valid visa for the purposes of seeking asylum.2

mythsFACTS+

solutionsAsylum seekers and refugees


MYTH ASYLUM SEEKERS SHOULD WAIT THEIR TURN IN THE QUEUE> FACT There is no queue or processing system accessible to asylum seekers in their home countries. By definition, to be considered a refugee you must be outside your country of origin.3

> FACT Very few countries in our region are signatories to the Refugee Convention. Asylum seekers who arrive in countries that have not signed the convention, such as Malaysia or Indonesia, are subject to anything from neglect to abuse, torture and indefinite imprisonment.4

> FACT By the end of 2012 there were 45.2 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. 893,700 of these people have applied for asylum. Of this number, the UNHCR has submitted 74,800 for resettlement, or 0.17% of all forcibly displaced people worldwide Currently there are no durable solutions for the vast majority of asylum seekers.5


MYTH MORE PEOPLE ARE SEEKING ASYLUM BY BOAT BECAUSE THE LABOR PARTY IS SOFT ON ASYLUM SEEKERS

> FACT The Rudd government's ‘Regional Resettlement Arrangement’ with Papua New Guinea marks the harshest (yet ineffective) shift in immigration policy we have seen under a Labor government. Even under the Gillard government, refugees made up 6.6% of Australia’s total immigration, whereas it was 7.6% during the Howard era.6

> FACT The number of boat arrivals depends not so much on domestic policy as ‘push’ factors in countries of origin such as repression, discrimination, ethnic conflict, human rights abuses and civil war. As forced-migration expert Dr Khalid Koser has noted: ‘There is wide consensus among both scholars and refugee organisations that conditions in origin countries… tend to be more important than conditions in destination countries… in explaining the movement of refugees.’7

% World Refugees Hosted By Australia

1978

1979

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

0

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%


MYTH AUSTRALIA IS BEING FLOODED BY ASYLUM SEEKERS

> FACT In 2012 poor countries received over 80% of the world’s refugees (2.4million). Pakistan was host to the largest number of refugees worldwide (1.6 million), followed Iran (868,200). Australia has 30,000, or 0.3% of the global total.9

Figure 1: Cohort of IMA's who arrived in 2011-12

Status of IMA's who arrived in 2011-2012 as at end March 2013

CitizenshipNumber of IMSa

Primary Grants

Primary refusals

Primary Grant Rate

Final Grants

Final Refusals

(POST REVIEW OUTCOME)

Finally determined

GRANT RATE

% of IMA's finalised

Afghanistan 3363 2223 598 78.8% 2469 65 97.4% 75.3%

Iran 1401 711 441 61.7% 921 115 88.9% 73.9%

Iraq 360 193 89 68.4% 233 26 90% 71.9%

Pakistan 727 388 142 73.2% 456 19 96% 65.3%

Sri Lanka 1356 55 568 8.8% 61 78 43.9% 10.3%

Stateless 622 340 121 73.8% 413 20 95.4% 69.6%

Other 214 101 13 88.6% 107 4 96.4% 51.9%

Total 8043 4011 1972 67% 4660 327 93.4% 62%

Source: DIAC Systems

Figure 2: Cohort of IMA's who arrived in 2010-11

Status of IMA's who arrived in 2010-2011 as at end March 2013

CitizenshipNumber of IMSa

Primary Grants

Primary refusals

Primary Grant Rate

Final Grants

Final Refusals

(POST REVIEW OUTCOME)

Finally determined

GRANT RATE

% of IMA'sfinalised

Afghanistan 1307 766 537 58.8% 1251 30 97.7% 98%

Iran 1637 764 864 46.9% 1369 185 88.1% 94.9%

Iraq 474 252 215 54% 406 49 89.2% 96%

Pakistan 67 38 29 56.7% 60 6 90.9% 98.5%

Sri Lanka 243 92 123 42.8% 137 26 84% 67.1%

Stateless 736 377 375 50.1% 653 61 91.5% 97%

Other 368 111 99 52.9% 142 47 75.1% 51.4%

Total 4665 2400 2242 51.7% 4018 404 90.9% 91.5%

Source: DIAC Systems

Figure 3: Overturn rate by country of citizenship

Citizenship 2010-11 2011-12 Jun Qtr 2011–12 Mar Qtr 2012–13

Afghanistan 87.1% 90.1% 87.4% 86.5%

Iran 78.7% 79.2% 79.7% 58.2%

Iraq 75.0% 75.4% 69.2% 71.4%

Pakistan 83.3% 72.0% 77.8% 80.4%

Sri Lanka 69.7% 81.6% 72.1% 47.2%

Stateless 84.0% 82.3% 81.4% 72.7%

Total 83.0% 82.4% 77.9% 72.3%

MYTHS, FACTS AND SOLUTIONS MYTHS, FACTS AND SOLUTIONS

MYTH AUSTRALIA TAKES ITS FAIR SHARE OF THE WORLD’S REFUGEE> FACT Of the 10.55 million refugees under the UNHCR's mandate in 2012, Australia hosted 30,083 (0.29%). We also received just 1.47% of total asylum applications worldwide. The largest numbers of refugees reside in poorer countries such as Pakistan (1,638,456), Iran (868,452) and Kenya (564,933). 10

> FACT More than 80% of the world’s refugees live in developing nations. Australia ranks 49th in the world for the number of refugees it hosts, and 62nd relative to its population size. Based on wealth per capita, that rank drops to 87th.11

How Australia Compares (Refugees)Australia’s World Ranking (2012)

By total number of refugees 49th

Compared to our population size (per capita) 62nd

Compared to our national wealth GDP (PPP) per capita 87th

Australia’s Ranking of 44 Industrialised Countries (2012)

Compared to Australia’s population size (per capita) 15st

Compared to Australia’s national wealth GDP (PPP) 14th

Category Global Total Australia TotalAustralia's Share

and Rank

Refugees under UNHCR mandate

10,500,241 30,083 0.29% (49th)

Refugees resettled from other countries

88,600 5,900 6.66% (3rd)

How Australia Compares (Asylum Seekers)Australia’s World Ranking (2012)

By total number of asylum claims 20th

Compared to our population size (per capita) 29th

Compared to our national wealth GDP (PPP) per capita 52nd

Australia’s Ranking of 44 Industrialised Countries (2012)

By total number of asylum claims 12th

Compared to our population size (per capita) 16th

Compared to our national wealth GDP (PPP) per capita 14th

Category Global Total Australia TotalAustralia's Share

and Rank

Asylum applications received in 2011

1,669,725 15,441 0.92% (23rd)

Asylum seekers recognised as refugees in 2011

1,018,719 5,726 0.56% (24th)

Statistics at a glance45.2 million people displaced, as at 31 December 2012

Refugees 15.4 millionAsylum Seekers 893,700Internall displaced persons 28.8 million


MYTH ASYLUM SEEKERS ARE A DRAIN ON CENTRELINK AND PUBLIC HOUSING> FACT Asylum seekers have no access to Centrelink benefits. A limited number of asylum seekers have access to the Red Cross Asylum Seeker Assistance Scheme for a certain period of time. The income provided by this scheme is equal to 89% of the Newstart Allowance.12

> FACT Asylum seekers do not get access to public housing and very rarely gain access to transitional housing. Asylum seekers face significantly higher rates of homelessness than the national average.

Figure 7: Australian Welfare Entitlements vs Community-based Asylum Seeker Assistance (per week)

Income Support Rent Assistance Additional Income Support Poverty LIne**

$100

$200

$300$276

Asylum Seeker* Adult (single) Pension

$310

$391

$445

$400


MYTH WE NEED DETENTION CENTRES> FACT Between 1948 and 1992, Australia successfully and peacefully resettled 452 000 refugees. At this time, asylum seekers were processed in the community and there was no policy of mandatory detention.

> FACT Australia is unique in the world in its policy of mandatory and indefinite detention. There is a more humane alternative. 13 At approximately 10% of the cost, and without the mental and physical damage, all asylum seekers who arrive by boat can be processed and cared for in the community, just as the majority of plane arrivals are.

> FACT There is now a large body of medical evidence demonstrating that prolonged detention has severe detrimental effects on psychological and physical health.14 There have been six deaths in 2010–11, five by suicide, in Australia’s detention centres. The Ombudsman reports that more than 1100 incidents of threatened or actual self-harm occurred across all places of detention in 2010–11.15


1. UNHCR, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html2. Janet Phillips, ‘Asylum seekers and refugees: what are the facts?’ Parliamentary Library of Australia, http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/sp/

AsylumFacts.pdf, 22 July 2011, p. 3.

3. UNHCR, Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, p. 144. Amnesty International, ‘Malaysia: Abused and Abandoned: Refugees Denied Rights in Malaysia,’ http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/

ASA28/010/2010/en, 15 June 2010. Jessie Taylor, ‘Behind Closed Doors: Examining the Conditions of Detention of Asylum Seekers in Indonesia,’ Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, http://www.law.monash.edu.au/castancentre/news/behind-australian-doors-report.pdf, 3 November, 2009.

5. UNHCR Global Trends 2012 http://www.unhcr.org/51bacb0f9.html 6. Refugee Council of Australia, Australia’s Refugee and Humanitarian Program 2010-11, http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/docs/resources/In-

take%20Sub%202010-11.pdf, February 2010, p. 2

7. Khalid Koser, ‘Responding to Boat Arrivals in Australia: Time for a Reality Check,’ Lowy Institute for International Policy, December 2010, p. 6.8. Parliamentary Library of Australia, ‘Boat Arrivals in Australia since 1976,’ http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/bn/sp/BoatArrivals.htm, updated 15 July 2011.9. ASRC, ‘Australia vs the World,’ http://www.asrc.org.au/media/documents/how-we-compare-internationally_.pdf, June 2011. 10. Refugee Council Global Refugee Statistics http://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/r/stat-int.php 11. For statistics and global rankings on refugees see, UNHCR (2012) Global Trends Annexes (Excel Tables), June 2013http://www.unhcr.org/globaltrends/2012-GlobalTrends-annex-tables.zip 12. Department of Immigration and Citizenship, http://www.immi.gov.au/media/letters/letters09/le091022.htm 21 October 2009.13. Alternatives to Offshore Processing http://www.palmerhiggsbooks.com.au/catalog-product-view-id-658-s-alternatives-to-offshore-processing.html 2012 14.Phillips C (2009) ‘Immigration detention and health,’ Medical Journal of Australia 192(2): 61–67.15. Ombudsman Report - Suicide and Self-harm in the Immigration Detention Network http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/files/suicide_and_self-

harm_in_the_immigration_detention_network.pdf May 2013).

MYTH AUSTRALIA NEEDS TO PROTECT OUR BORDERS FROM ASYLUM SEEKERS

> FACT The vast majority of asylum seekers arrive by plane with a valid visa, applying for asylum at a later date while living in the community. None have ever posed a threat to Australia’s national security.

> FACT No boat arrival who may have been a potential threat to national security has ever gained entry into Australia. Boat arrivals are subject to the most rigorous security checks of all arrivals into Australia.

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre 12 Batman Street West Melbourne, Vic. 3003 Telephone +61 3 9326 6066 For more information please visit www.asrc.org.au

myths, facts and solutions asylum seekers and refugees … · 2013-08-26 · myths, facts and...

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